An OriginalTrilogy.com timeline thread - a history of the site and why & how it came to be...

Hopefully this OT•com timeline thread will help chronicle just some of the rich history from this immense and unique site - from humble beginnings as home and beacon for the petition - with also becoming an effective resource for the fan pressure campaign shortly after - to then becoming a community hub for many like-minded Star Wars fans in general. It’s further evolution over time to be a home for some superb and varied fan preservations, fan edits and projects - plus documentaries, technical, audio, and archival endeavours etc. As well as discussing some of the more prevalent news and events from in and around Star Wars since 2003 (or maybe 2002…), and also some of the other intriguing ventures from Star Wars fandom since.

Yet first, a little background and history of how - and why - all this came to be…

The vast majority of the following text has been taken from zombie84’s educational and informative SaveStarWars.com website; from an editorial piece here - link - and abridged, edited & updated for use here. Please click the link to read the full original article. More details below. There are also ‘Further Reading’ links to SSW•com articles throughout - giving more in-depth insights on various topics.

• A long time ago…

On May 25th, 1977, a film opened in 32 theaters in the United States and changed not only the movie industry itself, but the popular culture unto which it was released. STAR WARS not only quickly became the pop fad of the summer of '77, it endured as a monumental and historical achievement in cinema, not just as an entertainment piece of great cultural value, but as a “blockbuster” or “popcorn” film, as a special effects extravaganza, as a sci-fi fantasy picture, as a franchise, as a cinematic epic, and as a classic of American film - as well as later appealing to audiences all over the world. By the end of the year, it was the most financially successful motion picture of all time, and at the Oscars it saw nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor, among an additional seven which it won.

Simply put, STAR WARS is one of the most influential films ever made and quite possibly it is the most popular singular film of all time.

Star Wars was the first VHS to make $1m+ in rentals when it came out in 1982 - although technically, this was not the original version either, for in 1981 the subtitle “Episode IV: A New Hope” was added to the title crawl; but, barring this single, rather insignificant change, it was the same film. Star Wars and its two sequels, the EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980) and RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983), were not only three of the most popular films in history… until the late 1990’s, they all occupied the top ten box office list - having a significant impact on popular culture and film-making since their release.

In 1989, the US Library of Congress added a print of STAR WARS to its archive, the National Film Registry, representing a preservation of films with great artistic and cultural value. Printed in a 1993 video boxset release, Lucas wrote a letter to fans, saying “Star Wars was my elaborate fantasy, but its popularity has gone beyond anything ever I had imagined…I hope that you, your children, and your children’s children will enjoy experiencing this saga as much as I have.”

• An evolution of changes to become the ‘Special Edition’…

Also in 1993, Lucasfilm and Fox began discussing the upcoming 20th anniversary of the original film. “One of the reasons I chose to reissue the films rather than do a convention or one of the other things that was suggested for the twentieth anniversary was at the time we thought about all of this I had a two-year-old son,” Lucas would later explain. "And I thought, ‘I’m not going to show him the film on video, I’m going to wait and let him see it on the big screen the way it was meant to be, and let him really be overwhelmed by the whole thing.’ Lucas remembers in 1997: “This was supposed to be a nice little twentieth anniversary for the fans.” Lucas had also long complained about a compromising 1976 shoot, and surmised that perhaps a few special effects could be added or cleaned up, similar to the way Steven Spielberg had done with his Close Encounters ‘Special Edition’ in 1980.

“[Fox said], ‘we should celebrate the fact that we’ve been here for 20 years.’ I said, ‘If you’re going to put that much money into reissuing the movie, I want to get it right this time.’” Lucas’ main idea was to expand the Mos Eisley space-port sequence and restore a deleted scene with Jabba the Hutt. “The initial scope of it involved just two dozen shots,” ILM animator Tom Kennedy says. FX wiz Dennis Muren then suggested that the release offered the opportunity to correct a list of 15 to 20 shots that had always bothered him. “I suggested to George that we expand the vision and he was open to it,” Muren says. “Motion issues, particularly in the space battle scenes, were my concerns. Then Tom Kennedy and the others contributed their own ideas for redoing shots.”

The ‘Special Edition’ was slowly growing in scale. Lucas was eager to use new CG technology - he had just announced he was making the Prequel Trilogy, and the ‘Special Edition’ of STAR WARS was free research and development since Fox was paying the bill. “We called it an experiment in learning new technology,” Lucas says, “and hoped that the theatrical release would pay for the work we had done.” Many new insertions were decided upon the basis of their usefulness as learning tools - how to do crowd replication, how to handle extreme close-ups on CG characters, etc.

By the time this ‘Special Edition’ was complete in 1997, the original camera negative had been restored, the sound remixed in 5.1 channel surround, many special effects were re-composited digitally, and the film had been enhanced with CGI in approximately 35 shots, and with an additional 30 brand new shots, offering a markedly different viewing experience…

• Fan reception…

Many fans felt non-plussed by many of these new additions - Greedo inexplicably shot (and missed, from just two feet away) before Han shot in order to “soften” Han’s character, “kiddie” humor is abound in slapstick CG droids, and even the long-awaited Jabba scene disrupted the pace, gave redundant information, showcased a lacklustre CG model, and had Boba Fett posing for the lens.

The term ‘Han Shot First’ would become a popular mainstream rallying call - highlighting that significant alterations were being made to the these icons films. Fan-made merchandise with ‘Han Shot First’ became widespread to the point where even Lucas himself some years later would wear a t-shirt (ironically?) sporting the phrase.

Yet, in spite of some mixed opinions about the changes, the main reason to go see the ‘Special Edition’ release for many fans was a chance to see the Original Trilogy on the big screen once more, and to that end it was a remarkable experience that brought in more money than all but the top six films that year. The public - not just “fanboys” - loved the chance to see the films again on the big screen.

However, most of us did not realize that Lucas had other plans. This version - a ‘Special Edition’: an enhanced, “nice little twentieth anniversary for the fans” and “an experiment in learning new technology”… would actually soon replace the historical and groundbreaking theatrical version of the Original Trilogy…

• Revisionism in full swing…

Lucas furthermore told American Cinematographer in 1997: “There will only be one. And it won’t be what I would call the ‘rought cut’, it’ll be the ‘final cut.’ The other one will be some sort of interesting artifact that people will look at and say, ‘There was an earlier draft of this.’…What ends up being important in my mind is what the DVD version is going to look like, because that’s what everybody is going to remember. The other versions will disappear. Even the 35 million tapes of Star Wars out there won’t last more than 30 or 40 years. A hundred years from now, the only version of the movie that anyone will remember will be the DVD version [of the Special Edition]… I think it’s the director’s prerogative, not the studio’s, to go back and reinvent a movie.”

Lucas had just purchased the copyright to STAR WARS from Fox, and when the films were re-issued on VHS in 2000 the boxes had now removed the label of “Special Edition” - but not the content; and the film still claimed 1977 as its release date. Critics and audiences asked Lucas if the original would be released… for many, this was the film of their adolescence, and an edit of the movie deemed superior by just about everyone, aside from its historic value. But Lucas refused - for him, he felt that the original was now a half-complete embarrassment. Moreover, he hoped that the ‘Special Edition’ would better integrate with the Prequel Trilogy he was releasing, so that the six film cycle could be seen as a more singular entity, and with all the criticism the Prequels received, seemingly became all the more stubborn and defensive that this should happen - in spite of what the rest of the world thought (and release both versions).

By 2001, VHS had been replaced by DVD - yet STAR WARS remained mysteriously absent from the new DVD format. Lucas’ plan to not release the films on DVD until after 2005 (after The Prequels had been released). When DVD officially overtook VHS in sales in 2003, Lucas finally relented - yet the original version of STAR WARS was in more dire straits than ever. A second ‘Special Edition’ was quickly put through for a 2004 DVD release - this time, plagued with color errors and timing issues that even the most ardently stubborn devotees of Lucas had a hard time appreciating this as a ‘Special Edition’ (unless fans consider Darth Vader’s now pink lightsaber is a superior artistic choice?).

The 2004 version had added more Prequel Trilogy references - such as Jar Jar Binks and Hayden Christensen, had replaced more many visual effects, tossed aside the color palette of the original photography, and came up with some highly questionable ‘deliberate creative decisions’ claims to cover basic rudimentary mistakes and lack of QC regarding the sound…

• Rebels striking from a hidden base win their first victory…(I’m very sorry!)

The original theatrical version, of course, was once again suppressed in 2004 DVD release. Yet Lucas went even further - seemingly trying to eliminate these OOT versions from existence. Prints from the OOT were recalled from circulation, and Lucasfilm only lent out 35mm prints of the ‘Special Edition’. There has been at least one documented instance where a theatre tried to screen a print sourced from collectors, as Lucasfilm refused, only to have official reps waiting to confiscate the print and shut down the screening. When American Cinemateque screened the film with a Q&A with model-maker Lorne Peterson as part of their tribute to ILM’s pioneering FX in the mid-2000s, they were forced to screen a version of the film that only contained roughly 30% of that original groundbreaking work!

The Associated Press asked Lucas in 2004 why he didn’t just release the original alongside the Special Edition, the way many movies had been done at that point. “The Special Edition, that’s the one I wanted out there,” Lucas replied. “The other movie, it’s on VHS, if anybody wants it… to me, it doesn’t really exist anymore. It’s like this is the movie I wanted it to be, and I’m sorry you saw half a completed film and fell in love with it. But I want it to be the way I want it to be.”, “I’m the one who has to take responsibility for it. I’m the one who has to have everybody throw rocks at me all the time, so at least if they’re going to throw rocks at me, they’re going to throw rocks at me for something I love rather than something I think is not very good, or at least something I think is not finished.” George was now conveniently ignoring the fact no one ever would ‘throw rocks at him’ for releasing the theatrical versions of the Original Trilogy films…

By this time, fans were so disillusioned that they had actually formally organized themselves. OriginalTrilogy•com had been formed back in 2002 (coming online in 2003), offering a petition of signatures by fans to Lucasfilm asking for the original theatrical versions of the trilogy to be released due their treasured status with fans and historical significance in the medium. By 2006, OriginalTrilogy•com’s petition had astoundingly garnered over 72,000+ signatures - a remarkable sign of how beloved the films were.

Due to this fan pressure campaign, Lucasfilm VP Jim Ward begged Lucas to release the original theatrical versions. There finally was a small compromise - a release of the OOT as a “bonus feature”; a master tape of the transfer done 13 years earlier, in 1993, for Laserdisc was pulled out of a dust bin from the Lucasfilm archives and included as a bonus feature in a 2006 DVD re-release of the ‘Special Edition’, in a non-anamorphic letterbox format. This blatant disregard and disrespect for the film angered not just fans but film buffs around the world, naturally. After a massive fan letter-writing campaign, Lucasfilm finally responded to the criticism, saying that the 1993 tape represented the best source of the originals - a claim obviously not true and reflecting Lucas’ attitude to those fans who wished to have the opportunity to be able to see the original theatrical versions. Renowned film restorationist Robert Harris - went on record saying he knew for a fact that there were pristine master 35mm elements available and that he would fully restore the original films! Lucasfilm did not respond to his offer.

• Artistic merit… should go to the artist - yet that’s more than just George…

Lucas’ refusal versus the demand of audiences has also sparked debate about artistic merit and respect for the intentions of the artist. No filmmaker is ever totally satisfied with their finished work, which is part of the drive to work on a next one - Alfred Hitchcock is famous for having remarked when asked what his favorite film of his was: “the next one.” The fact is that, regardless of whether Lucas likes it or not, STAR WARS was released as a finished product in 1977. It is 100% faithful to the shooting script, and on a technical level was the most advanced display of graphics ever made at that time. It was not “unfinished” in this sense, rather it simply was a product of the era that produced it.

Furthermore, the ‘Special Edition’ has gone far beyond “completing” anything - his insertion of Jar Jar Binks and Hayden Christensen was obviously not in his mind when he made RETURN OF THE JEDI in 1983. Moreover, EMPIRE and JEDI were not even directed by him - while he is undoubtedly a primary creative force behind the franchise, these films are not “his” in this kind of direct sense. EMPIRE director Irvin Kershner, for example, maintained when he was hired in 1977 that he must be able to have artistic control over the production: “It’ll be your film,” Lucas told him. Lucas states to Rolling Stone on June 12, 1980: “It’s truely Kershner’s movie.” Furthermore, JEDI director Richard Marquand passed in 1987 (Kershner in 2010). Lucas today represents a totally different person than the rebellious anti-establishment 30-year old of 1977 - and many of the changes are simply revisions, NOT completions.

The original award-winning work of the many artisans, sound technicians, craftsmen (& women), model makers, special effects artists, editors, and the talented crew’s priceless contributions increasingly lost - seemingly permanently… to ill-fitting mid-1990’s CGI and substandard efforts that have since themselves been replaced in latter changes to the ‘Special Editions’.

Some more info from the 40th Anniversary Reunion of Star Wars (both links feature videos and interviews by surviving members of those involved making the film - as well as Empire and Jedi too):-

HelloGreedo has a superb ‘Star Wars Profiles’ youtube video series, featuring some of those in front and behind the camera from the Original Trilogy films, which is full of informative insights and information - link.

• Yet even more changes to the Star Wars films…

The fact is that, if so many people enjoy the originals theatrical versions and would like to see them, wouldn’t that please a filmmaker? One of the reasons no other director has refused to release a version of their film when there has been so much demand and love for it is precisely because of this. Ridley Scott hates the theatrical cut of BLADE RUNNER, and as one of the most powerful directors in the world he would have the ability to maintain it not be released - but many people either enjoy it or would like to see it simply for posterity, and that is not anything to be bothered by.

No one ever has suggested that the ‘Special Edition’ - Lucas’ “Director’s Version” - be suppressed, or replaced. That a filmmaker gets to re-shape their film the way they want is a great privilege that every director should enjoy, and no one should deny Lucas this. The issue is: releasing the theatrical versions does not nullify the director’s cut. Everyone would have treated the ‘Special Edition’ as the final artistic statement of the director. They can both exist. In the current era of home video, there is no relevance in any argument that relies on only one version existing.

The theatrical versions of the Star Wars Original Trilogy are important classics of cinema.

2011 saw the Original Trilogy released on the blu ray format for the first time - featuring only the ‘Special Editions’ films once again - and along with even more numerous changes made to these editions of the movies; including yet further changes to the ‘Han / Greedo shooting in the Cantina’ scene. (For the 2015 Digital release there were changes to the iconic 20th Century Fox opening logo and fanfare - removed from all the OT films, except Star Wars '77, of which Fox still owned at the time).

• Hypocrisy highlighted further…

While the ‘Special Editions’ are the same basic films… they do NOT in any way represent the look or experience of their original groundbreaking theatrical releases. This is an important issue in contemporary cinema, especially because, unlike any other films of historical significance that have not been restored (DVD & blu ray have offered remarkable historic preservation of all the major classics), they are not being withheld due to neglect by the studio but due to a crusade of deliberate revisionism. This suppression of some of the cinema’s classics represents a stain against our cultural heritage, a reflection of our society, our technology and our values. As custodian of national treasures, there is an ethical mandate to preserve, protect, and display these works for the public good.

Lucas himself in the late 1980s spoke out against companies altering old films and colorizing black and white features; he claimed that, as a proponent of history, viewers should be able to appreciate a film as it was originally released. Regardless of arguments about artists versus companies altering films - Lucas is talking about history, and our shared heritage:-

“I am very concerned about our national heritage, and I am very concerned that the films that I watched when I was young and the films that I watched throughout my life are preserved, so that my children can see them,” he said. He furthermore once remarked in 1988: “In the future it will become easier for old negatives to become lost and be ‘replaced’ by new altered negatives. This would be a great loss to our society. Our cultural history must not be allowed to be rewritten.”

Perhaps it is time George Lucas himself, or Lucasfilm & Disney, to re-examine his beliefs?

• The students surpass the master…

Meanwhile, it has been the efforts and dedication from fans and communities on sites such as the OriginalTrilogy•com - and those that followed in the shape of savestarwars•com, secrethistoyrofstarwars•com, fanedits•com, thestarwarstrilogy•com, fanres•com, fanedit•org, and many other countless websites and fan alliances highlighting the lack of a OOT release (as well as changes made to them over the years and various releases)… who came together, pooled their resources, skills, experiences, patience, dedication and determination to come up with releases for the theatrical versions of the Original Trilogy ourselves…

Projects that have surpassed the quality of previous official releases of the Original Trilogy from Lucasfilm - whether that be in the form of tape or laserdisc transfers to dvd some years ago, Harmy’s Despecialized Editions circa 2011 on blu ray and other digital formats, adywan’s Revisited OT fan edits as an alternative to the ‘Special Editions’ (from a certain point of view), to recent and forthcoming 4K digital preservation projects for the theatrical versions of the Original Trilogy - from 35mm film sources…

As stated above, the vast majority of the above text is abridged and edited (& also re-formatted and updated) from zombie84’s superb 'How the Grinch Stole Star Wars’ editorial piece on his quality SaveStarWars.com site - an excellent resource of information for any Star Wars fan. The site provides an absorbing and comprehensive look (presented clearly and concisely) - chronicling and illuminating the behind the scenes history of the Original Trilogy films - along with the changes and revisionism surrounding them.

All credit goes to zombie84 for his exhaustive investigative endeavours - and please visit his site linked above to view the full original unabridged & unedited article. Be sure to also check out his website’s intriguing and informative FAQ, Editorial and Resource sections too. An OT•com thread on zombie84’s SaveStarWars•com website can be found here - link.

zombie84 also released a comprehensive and highly regarded book in 2008 - ‘The Secret History of Star Wars’. An OT•com thread of which can be found here - link; AudioBook thread : Amazon book (also available for Kindle & Audible), here - link; and Barnes & Noble book, here - link.

Although zombie84’s SecretHistoryOfStarWars.com website itself is no more (though the facebook page for it still exists) - OT•com member none has archived the website, and is hosting a version - available here (massive thanks and respect, as ever, to none):-

A Timeline chronicling the history & evolution of the OriginalTrilogy•com itself…

From 2002… (the R&D era)

Jay - quoted from an article by our very own ‘Luke Skywalker’, back in early 2003, as to why Jay created the OT•com:-

“I created the site because I love film, both past and present, and I didn’t want to see some of my favourite films of all time fade away into obscurity. Star Wars should be preserved in its original form so future generations can experience it as we all have. Many people say online petitions have zero effect, but I’d rather know that I did all I could to gather fans and let their voices be heard.”

“I’m obviously not happy that George Lucas has decided to offer only finalized Special Editions of Star Wars on DVD. I hope Mr. Lucas understands that we’re not a bunch of rabid fan boys trying to push him around. We’re just trying to get him to understand that Star Wars is film history, and it should be preserved–not in a vault somewhere, but in a public format that the fans can enjoy.”

More images of the site in it’s various guises down the years can be found in this thread… here

2003

10th March - The OT•com officially comes online(skynet style 😉) - the site petition gains traction and will eventually reach 72,000+ signatures; making a significant contribution in fan pressure campaigns… culminating in a 2006 release of the theatrical versions of the Original Trilogy on DVD - albeit as bonus discs on a ‘Special Edition’ DVD set (see 2006 for more info).

2003 Overview…

Every journey has a first step… Every Saga has a beginning… These are the voyages of the… 😉

Jay’s original petition calling for George Lucas to release the theatrical versions of the Original Trilogy on DVD was hosted at the now defunct petitiononline•com website - though unfortunately frequent garbage and insulting comments were appearing on there amongst the many genuine signatures. These comments, coupled with the site’s restrictive controls in not being able to remove them - which could have damaged the integrity and cogency of the petition - led Jay to start afresh on an environment with it’s own petition ‘control system’; hence this place was swiftly created and then unleashed upon an unsuspecting world…

Originally, the forum on here was quite a basic and concise affair - mainly for ideas and suggestions from fellow fans who wished to contribute someway to the cause of the petition’s goals, and for also cataloging and finding other sites and publications who may been affable or sympathetic to join and further strengthen the fan pressure on Lucafilm. There was also an ‘Announcements’ section for site/petition news, a ‘Theatrical Cuts vs. Special Editions’ section for fans to learn about the many changes made to the OT films, a ‘General Star Wars Discussion’ section, and an ‘Off Topic’ section for anything else not covered by the other categories.

In little over a year, the OT•com forum had become a hive of scum and villainy dedicated members who had grown into a community interested in putting together and viewing our own fan-made preservation projects based on previous Original Trilogy releases - in the form of various laserdisc-to-dvd transfers - in a new and dedicated ‘Original Trilogy Preservation’ section of the forum. Skills, techniques, information, advice, stories, successes & failures, as well as answers to many questions & unknowns - all shared and experienced through the community on here, which had naturally evolved alongside the forum’s original premise - something which still remains true over 15 years later, on this, the most resolute and adaptable of places.

Well in, Jay. And also to every petition signee & every OT•com member who has contributed anything, something, on here too.

2004 Overview…

Rikter (and his spookies) had really helped spread the word regarding the existence and availability of two main sets of fan-made Laserdisc to DVD transfers of the Original Trilogy knocking around at this time - those being the ‘TR47 / Cowclops’ and the ‘Dr Gonzo’ versions. These projects inspired many talented, determined or just curious individuals on here to attempt to create their own versions over the next couple of years (and beyond) - PAL or NTSC, through differing quality laserdiscs players, from the various OT laserdisc releases - with some DVD sets even having their own customised menus or bonus features!

These newly created projects were sent to the four corners of the world and beyond - by some of the community on here - creating free Pay-It-Forward (PIF) networks of snail-mailing DVD discs through the post. This was at a time when dial-up internet was still prevalent for many, few computers had dvd re-writers - yet had meagerly sized hard drives, and also a lack of online storage services for dvd files as large as 4gb or so - let alone the 12-13gb required for the three Original Trilogy films.

Obviously, 2004 also saw the first release of the Original Trilogy on DVD - yet these would be the ‘Special Editions’ only - with more changes made to them since the 1997 SE release - and no sign of the unaltered theatrical versions.

2005 Overview…

2005 saw the release of ‘Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith’ in the cinema - and later in the year on DVD; with therein work commencing on an array of Prequel Trilogy Fan Edits, ‘3-in-1’ PT projects, ROTS edits, and ‘Complete Saga’ fan projects to come. Fans had been inspired and curious for some time by ‘The Phantom Edit’ released back in 2000/2001 on VHS - and given the general unhappiness with the quality of the Prequel Trilogy… many took to editing and making their own versions (or ‘Special Editions’) of the Prequels.

Some Edits were fairly light with changes - whilst other Edits featured heavier alterations - new alien subtitles and scripts altering the story, re-colouring of scenes (and even lightsabers), insertions of deleted scenes or bonus materials, actors’ voices and scenes from other bodies of work were inserted, cuts were made for pace and timing - along with some Edits near-on removing entire characters from the original story.

The year also saw OT•com member Jambe Davdar commence work on his superb Filmumentaries OT project - fan-made, yet professional quality documentaries; starting with ‘Building Empire’ (and would later go on to release ‘Returning To Jedi’, and finally ‘Star Wars Begins’.

12th September - The theatrical versions of the Original Trilogy are released on DVD - albeit on bonus discs as part of another Special Edition release set - in a substandard non-anamorphic format; even for 2006.

2007 Overview…

By 2007 the OT•com had already seen many preservation, fan edit and fan projects for Star Wars material in it’s short time - yet was also now seeing many edits and preservations for non Star Wars material too. From films, documentaries and tv series, and audio and soundtrack projects as well. From popular classics to long-forgotten gems, out-of-print or previously thought-lost material, bonus materials and deleted scenes being more available than before, and also giving some new life to content that hadn’t been seen or released in certain countries before.

All the while Editors were honing and also sharing their skills, experiences, info and advice, with more techniques being catalogued, new software being released - along with advances in technology making it slightly easier and cheaper to accomplish many highly polished fan-made releases.

With this growing popularity of fan-made projects, Jay launched a ‘sister site’ to the OT•com - FanEdits.com - a wiki-style fan project database with the goal of featuring the various film ventures being produced by fans.

4th November - sees another re-release of the Original Trilogy in a DVD boxset - still with no unaltered Theatrical Versions of the Original Trilogy (a Prequel Trilogy boxset is also released too). More info here - link.

2008 Overview…

2008 saw the highly anticipated release of adywan’s 'Revisited Edition’ of Star Wars. Inspired by watching the ‘ADigitalMan / Darth Editous Hybrid’ Fan Edit of Star Wars, adywan had started off simply colour-correcting the official Specials Edition DVD release. As he progressed he found that there were many things he could figure out how to do to make what he felt the Special Editions could - and likely should - have been; resulting in new scenes being filmed and added, a new sound mix, effects, music, and hundreds of small tweaks and edits made.

Another OT•com member also had a busy year… zombie84 released his book ‘A Secret History of Star Wars’ to critical acclaim and high praise. The detailed and thorough book (containing over 400 sources and filled with quotes from people such as George Lucas, Gary Kurtz and Mark Hamill) challenged many myths, legends and revisionism surrounding the origins of the series - and placed the films, both in their inception and history, as well as what had become oft-repeated ‘lore’, in a new factual light.

2009 Overview…

For a couple of years prior, news of a documentary being made which would include fans’ own opinions on Star Wars had piqued much interest amongst SW fandom. The ‘People Vs George Lucas’ is an examination of the widespread fan disenchantment with George Lucas at the time; the lack of an acceptable quality release of the theatrical versions of the OT, as well as disappointment with aspects of the Prequel Trilogy - the changing of the mythology - as well as the story itself.

ABC’s (and seventiesfilmnut’s) project to salvage and remaster the Original Trilogy Soundtracks - from changes made to them over the years by the releases of the Special Editions soundtracks (and restoring the original dynamic sound, warmth and depth back to them) - was released this year.

2010 Overview…

Two years on from the release of his informative book (A Secret History Of Star Wars), zombie84 started the SaveStarWars•com website - a comprehensive journal chronicling many intriguing articles and editorials as well as news and information from the time - and proves to be a great resource for anyone interested in the evolving changes made to the Original Trilogy. The website can be found here, and his OT•com discussion thread on the website can be found here.

2010 also saw zombie84 write this article covering some of the history of OT Laserdisc Preservations on the OT•com (as well as general info on the background of Preservations and Star Wars DVD info) - which can be found here - Fan Preservations

doubleofive’s ‘Complete Comparison of Special Edition Visual Changes’ quality project thread (here) - made for a superb contribution to the site - listing all of the numerous and continuing changes made to the Original Trilogy over time. His later twitter page and blog page also archive those changes on differing media platforms and well worth visiting to see just how many have occurred since the 1997 ‘Special Editions’.

hairy_hen’s ‘Star Wars 1977 70mm sound mix recreation’ project also came to be in 2010; providing a release that had not been previously made available on home video - as well as fulfilling the stated goal of trying to sound as much like the original mix as possible.

2011 Overview…

The Original Trilogy had it’s first blu ray release in 2011 - featuring yet more changes to the Original Trilogy - though did not feature a release of the theatrical versions of the films.

However, Harmy’s ‘Despecialized Edition’ of the Original Trilogy came to the fore that year - providing a fan-made 720p HD quality restoration of the theatrical versions first three films - sourced mainly from the official blu ray release themselves (along with a few other elements). A tireless and exhaustive task - made a little easier by the community here collaborating with Harmy to help him come up with a professional-level release - that for many fans surpassed any of the official home video releases of Star Wars, previous.

Harmy had no prior professional experience with film editing - and taught himself as the venture progressed, beginning with some Photoshop skills that he had developed in college. To remove the post-theatrical version changes he painstakingly went through the films frame-by-frame, correcting colours and rotoscoping scenes - undoing some shots took only an hour, while others took hundreds. Lightsabers were color-corrected, and CGI characters & backgrounds were removed. Harmy then edited these sources together using software such as Adobe After Effects and Avisynth.

2012 Overview…

Disney buys Lucasfilm. During a meeting that George Lucas had with Disney CEO Bob Iger, Lucas told Iger he was considering retirement and planned to sell the company, as well as the Star Wars franchise. On October 30, 2012, Disney announced a deal to acquire Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion, with approximately half in cash and half in shares of Disney stock.

Kathleen Kennedy became president of Lucasfilm, with George Lucas originally announced as serving as creative consultant. On December 21, 2012, Disney completed the acquisition and Lucasfilm became a wholly owned subsidiary of Disney. The company also announced the future release of new Star Wars films, starting with Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, in 2015 - part of the new Star Wars Sequel Trilogy.

Catbus’ superb ‘Project Threepio’ (Star Wars OOT subtitles) project was released in 2012. The venture’s aim is to ‘provide high-quality subtitle options for preservations of the Star Wars “Original Original Trilogy” – Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi in their unaltered forms – and to provide a framework with which anyone can add or change subtitles as needed for any other purpose. I hope that this will broaden the appeal of our preservation efforts beyond the English-speaking world’.

2013 Overview…

Hal 9000 releases the first of his revamped Prequel Trilogy Edits - coming up with the quality ‘Cloak of Deception’; ‘a re-crafted perspective on Star Wars Episode I in keeping with the drive of the Original Trilogy of films. Unnecessary ‘galaxy shrinking’ cameos from classic characters have been cut down or removed. Anakin is depicted as a more mature and capable figure an audience can identify with. Jar Jar is recast as an everyman caught up in events outside his control who does his part in the fight for freedom, rather than a traitorous clown.’

njvc’s Pulp Empire is released. A Tarantino inspired slick Star Wars mashup and remix - intended as a fun homage to one of njvc’s favourite filmmakers. Steering away from the Tarantino vibe, he also included a hero moment for most of the main characters, and threw in a great selection of music from previous Tarantino releases - ‘as well as a few songs that Tarantino would never use in a million years…’

Disney boss Bob Iger confirms that Lucasfilm plans to have stand-alone Star Wars films, with Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg lined up to develop the movies, that would be released sometime during the six-year period the then-coming Sequel Trilogy will be released - link.

2014 Overview…

Disney’s Lucasfilm announced it had dissolved the Expanded Universe(aka EU) permanently - and Lucasfilm would have local Governors would have direct control over these territories to keep it all in line - or possibly something about ‘Canon’ & ‘Legends’, who knows? 😉 The OT•com discussion thread on this decision, with honourable mentions to why fans’ own personal canon can be just as relevant and important, along with various other thoughts and comments, can be found here - link.

2014 also saw the US premiere of the animated tv series Rebels - which would go on to run for four seasons. Rebels was set five years before the events of Star Wars '77, and tells the story of the Rebellion’s beginnings while the Empire spreads tyranny through the galaxy.

Though not ‘year specific’ to this timeline thread… I’d just like to highlight some of the great work done by many of the talented individuals on here who made dvd and blu ray covers, inserts, disc-art, boxsets, other media device covers, and fan art in general on the OT•com - in the site’s ‘Case Covers, Disc Labels, and Fan Art’ section. Also kudos to those who’ve supplied info and resources, advice and help on how best to print these works of art - and also to further improve the quality of sets available - whether from the official Star Wars releases - to the numerous fan edits, preservations and fan projects on here - and to non-Star Wars content as well.

2015 Overview…

Episode VII: The Force Awakens was released in 2015, heralding the start of a new Sequel Trilogy from Lucasfilm - without the direct influence of George Lucas. The film harked back to the feeling and vibe of the Original Trilogy - with much emphasis placed on the film using real sets and props over unnecessary overuse of CGI. Even the story - an almost retelling or interpretation from sections of the entire OT paid homage to this - the first Star Wars film in 12 years, and the first investment from new owner’s Disney since their $4b takeover in 2012. Fan reaction was generally positive, though while some found the film ‘to play it safe’ somewhat… many agreed it was an overall improvement on the Prequel Trilogy.

2016 Overview…

Rogue One, the first of the standalone ‘A Star Wars Story’ films was released in 2016 - to mainly positive reviews and high-grossing takings at the box office. Set at the time of Star Wars '77, the film also featured CGI recreations of the Tarkin and Princess Leia characters - which caused some debate on how ‘good’ (or not) the final compositions were. The film did undergo some much publicised re-shoots - and whilst many enjoyed the released project, it was somewhat disappointing for some that the original and unused footage has not been aired or included as deleted scenes or bonus material (to date).

Zion’s ‘Star Wars Holiday Special - Zion Hybrid v2’ was released. The 1978 Star Wars ‘curiosity’ has a strong cult following - and this release combined the best sources available to achieve a superb quality preservation project that possibly surpasses the quality of the content itself (sorry Zion! 😉)

poita’s fantastic ‘The Original Trilogy restored from 35mm prints’ project commenced in 2016. poita has managed to secure all three OT films on 35mm prints and is in the process of cleaning and scanning - before getting to any digital cleanup and colour correction…

That’s all I’ll put here - as much of this stuff is way beyond my comprehension - though I’d encourage anyone with any interest in seeing a professional quality preservation of the theatrical versions of the Original Trilogy to visit and read poita’s thread above - and also, if they can, to make a donation.

Donations of any size are welcome - and necessary - for the project to be completed; see his linked thread above for details…

2017 Overview…

Episode VIII: The Last Jedi from director Rian Johnson saw intriguing receptions from many Star Wars fans… everyone loved it! 😉 Where some fans had criticised TFA for playing it safe - some fans had issues with the TLJ film and it taking a large leap story-wise, subverting expectations - moving the story onwards at a frenetic & dense pace. Whilst others said certain characters felt a little shallow, that the story was not true to what had come in the previous films of the Saga. TLJ also saw a further rise and apparent growth of toxicity from some vocal ‘fans’ - racist & sexist abuse; and also many people seemingly not liking purple hair on aliens in their space fantasy films. I’d write more - yet have likely triggered some reading this already…

2017 also saw adywan being work on final part of his OT Revisited Editions - Return Of The Jedi. Given the outstanding and meticulous labour of love undertaken by him on the previous two OT films we wish him all the good fortune that can come his way - and also hope for a smooth experience in completing his highly rated and much-anticipated finale to the Trilogy.

2018 Overview…

2018 was seemingly the year for announcements for all things Star Wars… with Game Of Thrones’ David Benioff and D.B. Weiss to write and produce a new series of Star Wars films, a live-action tv series The Manadalorian, a Cassian Andor live-action tv series, two new animated tv series - ‘Star Wars Resistance’ and a short animated series in ‘Galaxy Of Heroes’ (both of which also aired this year).

2018 also saw both the cinematic and home format releases of Solo: A Star Wars Story.

March 10th saw the OriginalTrilogy•com celebrate it’s 15th year online - a feat that not many sites or fan forums have acheived.

4K77 (Star Wars) was released this year - in 1080p and UHD formats; shortly followed by 4K83 (Return Of The Jedi) in the same 1080p and UHD format - from 35mm film sources by the good people at thestarwarstrilogy.com. 4K80 (Empire Strikes Back) is being worked on - yet will take some time to complete.

December saw OriginalTrilogy•com owner & admin Jay announce he was stepping down from many of his roles here after near-on 16 years. Whatever the future holds for him (Jay will still providing the OT•com with his invaluable tech support and knowledge - nobody else knows how to turn it off and on again 😉) we wish Jay all the very best for the future - and many, many thanks for his tireless work and efforts (much of it unseen) in creating, funding, maintaining, and evolving this unique forum since it’s humble beginnings way back in 2003. And for being the catalyst in building us this great Rebel Base from which the community here operates from.

Anchorhead & SilverWook be taking over the control of all site content and day-to-day operations from 1st February, 2019. Donations will be required from this date onwards to cover the site’s monthly overheads - more info can be found here.

2019

21st December - Planet Earth blows up. Human life is extinct - all that remains are a vocal minority of Star Wars fans’ virulent toxic rants still emitting through the universe…

^ the remainder of this section will be compiled early in 2020 😉 ^

2019 Overview…

Well, we all went out with a bang!

2020

early 2020 - The universe runs out of room for repeated toxic negativity - and gives up. The universe then starts to shrink very quickly, until it is destroyed. No one is very angry any more, and this is widely considered a good move - sorry Douglas.

September 2020 - sees Lucasfilm release yet another blu ray set of the ‘Special Editions’ of the Original Trilogy - with yet even more changes made to them - though still no unaltered theatrical Original Trilogy officially available…

2020 Overview…

(tba)

For more info on the Timeline above, as well some of the OT•com’s history and continuing evolution, please have a look through the site’s Index Threads…

If you are having any issues with the site, have a question, an idea to improve the site, or would like to give some feedback - then these can be done in the Feedback Forum and General Assistance sections.

Please take your time to look around the site before posting - and to also get a feel for the place. We are not like reddit or 4chan etc (not that there’s anything wrong with these sites) - we’re just a little different… more of an old-skool site ‘for a more civilised age’… 😉

From the 1st February 2019 the OriginalTrilogy•com’s monthly running costs will no longer be funded by Jay (who had benevolently covered the site’s monthly overheads for nearly 16 years!) - and the site moderators are asking for donations from the community here to keep the OT•com up and running.

Donations (whether a one-off, occasional or a monthly contribution) can be made by clicking on the ‘Donate with PayPal’ button located at the top of this site.

Immense thanks to zombie84 for allowing me to use, edit, abridge & update his comprehensive editorial piece from SSW•com as part of this thread - and also to doubleofive for getting me the ‘greenlight’ to do so.

As ever, please let me know if you see any incorrect info or broken links - or have any suggestions for content to be included in here - thank you.

A wise man - also a cunning Fan Editor on here (and one of the best in the Galaxy 😉) - once said that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly upon our own point of view. This post is merely another…

I can answer almost all questions anyone might have about the Sith from Star Wars Legends, and please do PM me for the bd25 DEED(Despecalised Editions), as I have this version, though I can’t answer technical questions about them. Auntie Derry/Rumpelstiltskin.
Do not go gentle into that good night, Though wise men at their end know dark is right, They
Do not go gentle into that good night. “Stay Phrosty” - Lemar Kentell, my other half. Feel the love.